Dishonored
by TayMarBooks
Summary: Loxley Ambros is an assassin, but no one is supposed to know that. Well, when the most unexpected people find out, they will use her to do their bidding but at what cost?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Russell Collins was an ass before he died. Being dead hadn't changed much. He sat across the bar wearing a black business suit. His thinning black hair was slicked back to try and hide the bad spot that had started to show on the top of his head. His angular face was worried and nervous. He always reminded me of the errand boy in old gangster movies, you know, the expendable one.

Now that Russell was a vampire, he wasn't that expendable anymore, but he was still running errands for bigger fish. Nope. Death hadn't changed anything really. As standard policy when dealing vampires, I avoided looking him in the eye. He might have been a shit head but he was an undead shit head. This was a whole new area for me.

We sat looking at each other from across the bar. He swirled his glass of O positive while I cleaned an already spotless glass. Being one of the only vampire friendly bars in the area we served blood. Because of this, we got a lot of vampire business. It was still early so The Circuit was still empty and we were alone.

"You mind if I smoke?" He was twirling a cigarette between his fingers. Who knew vampires had nervous twitches?

"Actually I do. Smoke free club. Go outside." I picked up another glass and inspected the surface.

"You're not going to make this easy for me are you?"

I sighed and looked right at him for a second. He had small laugh lines at the corners of his eyes and lines around his mouth from smoking at an early age I would bet. He caught me looking and I quickly looked away.

He laughed a rasping cough like laugh. "Damn it if I don't love it. You're afraid of me. Don't try to lie, I can smell it on you like something touching my face."

I shrugged. How are you supposed to lie to someone who can smell your fear? "Why are you even hear Russell?"

He looked at his glass and took a sip of his cooling beverage. He used to sip whiskey on the rocks. I wanted to ask what changes? What did it feel like to die and be dead? I knew other vampires but Russell was the only one I knew before and after death.

"What do you want?" I emphasized every word.

"I am here to become a client."He licked his top lip, showing fang.

I kept my face blank but my heart rate sped up. I knew he couldn't hear it over the thumping music. "I have already served you a drink Russell, you are a client." I turned to put the glass on the shelf behind me.

"No, not as a bar tender. I want to hire you to find a kill someone."

I froze. There were a thousand things that could happen in this moment. I pictured a scenario of me luring Russell out back and quickly getting rid of him. Payment or not. How in the hell had he found out. So I did the first thing that came to mind. Deny deny deny. "I think you have the wrong person Russell. That's the craziest thing I have heard all day." I chuckled to give it a little spice.

"Nah. I know about you Lox. I pay attention. You might know your drinks but that isn't the only thing that you know. You know how to kill monsters. It's been you the whole time. You're the Sandman!"

I swung around faster than I thought I could. "Shut the fuck up! You don't know what you're talking about."It came out in a hiss as I looked around the club. Only one person had wondered in. Sally LaGrange. She was a human and already drunk. I would take her keys here in an hour. I would call her son to come and pick her up. It was a several night a week thing. "Let's cut to the chase here. We are going to start getting regulars here," I glanced at my watch, "in about fifteen minutes. Now get serious."

He looked very somber after my outburst. "You know about the vampires that have gone missing right? With the handful of humans last seen with them?"

Because he made it a question I said "I've heard about them." Six vampires had been killed in the last two months in the general area. They had been shown the sun. A couple of them had humans tied to them as they burned.

"Well the cops feel like most, including you, what's one more dead vampire? New laws don't change that." There was a tone of disgust in his voice.

It had been four years since the vamps had come out and made themselves known to the humans. The government had to change the definition of what life was and what death wasn't. It had been two years since the fey came out and they had to change what a life sentence was, but that was a whole new ball game. Vampirism was now legal in the United States, as long as you was over the age of eighteen.

I looked at the vampire in front of me. Did I really believe what was one more dead vampire? Maybe. I shrugged, "If you believe that, why come to me at all?"

"Because the word on the street is that the Sandman is the best and we need the best." He made a slip.

"Who is we? Who are you working for?" My ears had picked up on that. It was the first time he had said we.

"That isn't important. Look, the money is good. We need somebody who knows the night life and can get around unnoticed. No one has ever seen the Sandman."

I shook my head. How did he even find out? If Russell could find out, that means anyone willing to try hard enough could. I had made a lot of enemy's out there but he was right. No one ever saw me and lived. Hell, only certain contacts knew how to reach me when there was a job and even they had never seen my face. I doubt they even knew I was a woman.

"I told them you wouldn't go for this." He sat very still looking at me. Fear crawled over the back of my neck giving me chill bumps. I fought the urge to pull one of the butterfly knives out of my boots. So I just stood there. "Why won't you help us?"

"I'm sorry I can't help you."

"You mean won't."

"Have it anyway you like." He moved with the vampire quickness that the living Russell never had. I still saw him move and jerked back from his hand. "I won't fall for your mind tricks."

"You saw me." He narrowed his eyes at me accusingly.

"You still have a lot to learn about being a vamp Rus."

He was frowning with his hand still reaching across the bar. "I might be new Loxley, but no regular human could have stepped outta the way like that. You're no more a normal human than I am."

Cold sank into my stomach like a stone in the lake. I looked at him with as little emotion as I could muster. "I need to start getting ready for other customers."

"Why won't you help us Loxley? I got to tell them something when I go back."

I wasn't sure but he sounded scarred and his posture had become stiff and almost defensive. Would the little rat get in trouble for failing? I sorta felt sorry for him but that was just plain silly. He was undead.

"Tell them I don't work for vampires." In all honesty, I never met any of my clients. As a general rule, nothing lead back to them, nothing lead to me. So it is possible that I work for one but I didn't see what the point would be when they could kill someone themselves.

"I wish you hadn't said that Loxley. These people don't like being told no." There was something like pity in his voice. I sure as hell didn't need that shit.

"I don't like being threatened. You may leave now." I turned away from him and pretended to check the liquors that I kept well stocked.

"It's not a threat Lox. It's the unfortunate truth."

I closed my eyes and released the breath I didn't know I had been holding. My knees and elbows felt like jelly but there was no time for me to sit here and shake. It was a Friday and the club was going to be busy.

I touched the gun I kept under the counter for comfort. The 9mm Browning high power was just a smidge over two pounds. It had silver plated bullets because I knew for a fact that vampires were not the only creepy crawly in the dark. It also discouraged rowdy clientele. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and suck it up. Did it really bother me that some vamps knew my secret? You're damn right it did.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I hate sunrises. They mean I worked way too long. I sat on my balcony sipping my coffee watching Raleigh come alive around me. By the time the last customer was safely in an Uber and the club was as clean as it was going to get until next shift came in, it was four thirty in the morning. After showering to get the smell of booze off me, it was close to five thirty. As much as I wanted to throw myself in bed, I just wasn't relaxed enough.

Russell's words still bothered me. Nothing to worry about right now. It was day light and the big bad vampires couldn't hurt me. I closed my eyes and cracked my neck side to side. I stretched my arms out, admiring the tattoos that lived there. The rose vine the wrapped around my left wrist and half way up my arm caught my attention this morning. The three roses looked back at me. Three memories. I picked my cup up and turned back into my apartment.

I could almost admit that my apartment looked nice in the first light of day. Almost. It was way too cheerful in the morning sun. For someone who was night owl it was rather annoying.

My walls were white as white could get and bare. No holes allowed. The carpet was a deep grey which wasn't all that bad. It was roomy for one bedroom. It has a nice view of the park across the street but I rarely see it in this light.

Blackout curtains.

I placed my cup in the sink and pulled the curtains closed. I turned on my IPod speakers on low to drown out my neighbors daily activities. Sleep sucked me under with the soft sound of the Lumineers. Thirty seconds later the phone rings.

Why hadn't I turned the damn thing off? Maybe I can ignore it. I peak at my clock. It was nine. I had slept three hours. The phone stopped ringing. I sighed and snuggled deeper into the covers.

It started ringing again.

Can I ignore it twice? Five rings later I gave in. Without picking my head up I felt along the dresser for my cell. I slid the green to answer without seeing who it was.

"Someone had better be dead or dying." So I was grumpy. Sue me.

"Loxy?" Charlene's voice came over the phone. She was one of the other regular bartenders at the club. She was as sweet as the cherry lip gloss she always wore. She was in her mid to late thirties and had a teen year old kid. She was a hard worker and didn't complain much. I liked her for it.

"Charlene?" She had never called me before but we all had each others numbers just in case.

"Yeah sweet pea." I could almost see her twisting her too dyed red hair around her fingers. "Look, I know it is supposed to be your Saturday off but Bradley broke his leg and I'm not sure when we will be leaving the hospital. Could you cover for me tonight?"

I knew what it took for her to call out. Being a single mom who took the bus, she could use all the money she could get. I just lay there for a minute thinking of saying no. It was supposed to be my fist Saturday off in two months.

I sighed. "Sure. I didn't have any plans anyway."

"Oh thank you! I sure do owe you one!"I heard a knock on her side of the phone. "Oh the doctor is coming in. Thanks again Loxley."

She hung up before I could say anything. I turned my cell off before snuggling deeper into my sheets. Damn it. Another night of watching strangers get housed. Maybe it if was lucky, someone would throw up on the bar. At least Saturday was a big tip night. And the day before Sunday. Everyone's day off. The Room Where You Sleep by Dead Man's Bones was playing as I drifted back off to sleep.

I had the strangest dreams after that. All of them were about Russell Collins' funeral.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The woman across the bar was handing out flyers that said 'Vampires Have Rights Too.' This was not a good sign for how my evening was going to go. Her black blouse was high collar, emphasizing her thin face. Her hair was short and expertly cut. Her makeup perfect. This wasn't our usual clientele and she didn't look like she belonged in a night club. This should have tipped me off as to what type of night it was going to be but sometimes I'm slow to catch on.

I was wearing black jeans, black knee high boots, and a grey tank top that sparkled in the low lights. It was semi revealing which was good for tips. I had two butterfly knives in each boot and a Bond Ranger Derringer at the small of my back. It was a .45 and could hold two shots. It would kill a human and slow down anything that wasn't.

My hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, the thick black curls reaching to the middle of my shoulder blades. The emerald green of my eyes stood out against the dark of my hair and the olive tone in my skin. A very ex-boyfriend once told me my skin was too pretty to be covered in tattoos. He meant it as a compliment. I didn't take it that way. I don't date much anymore.

Sammy, the other bartender for the night, was watching Miss Vampire Friendly. She had served the woman two Cosmos and already her face was flushed and her eyes were glassy. We both hated light weights. Sammy drug her hand across her throat to show me that she was officially cutting her off. We really didn't need rowdy folks in here tonight. I nodded and tried to get the woman's attention.

"Maám we are a vampire friendly club. Why don't you hand those papers out at some of the bars down the block?" I tried to convince her to leave. I knew she hadn't drove because she didn't have keys with her. Not even a pocket book. Just wallet and those papers. She was starting to draw attention from customers and I didn't want them scared away by some radical.

She turned and looked at me like she was a puppet on a string. She was looking at me but no one was home. The flashing lights played with shadows across her face making her look very zombie like. She started to bob her head along to Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes.

Her head whipped towards the door. Her shirt pulled away from her neck enough for me to see two perfect little puncture marks. They were new. Shit. She was a fanger, commonly known as a fang banger. People who willingly let vampires bite and sleep with them. It was making sense now. She wasn't drunk, she was still riding the high from the bite. A smile spread across her face so I turned to see what she was looking at. There with the door propped open was a vampire.

The vampire just stood there; very still. He still looked alive. He couldn't have been dead for very long. It takes years to perfect the stillness of the old ones. He still looked almost human. It helped that his skin was flushed with fresh blood. I wonder if it was Miss Fanger over here. I turned to look at Sammy but she was helping a customer. Something was happening here and I really was starting to not like it.

"Loxley Ambrose, how wonderful to finally meet you." The voice was laced with Irish or Scottish and as warm as sitting next to a fireplace. I turned. Darcy Dermot leaned against the bar. He was one of the older vamps I had ever met. He was also powerful but not showoff-ish like most vampires with power.

He looked like a vampire was supposed to look. His dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail at his neck. His clothes looked like they belonged more on a pirate ship than in a modern day club. The antique looking white shirt hung open framing a lean chest. Most men couldn't pull off a shirt like that. He could.

"You two know each other?" Sammy slid up beside me raising a brow. Her v-neck t-shirt hugged her slim figure. If it wasn't for the fact she was working on her doctorates in some form of microbiology, she could pull off being a twelve year old. I opened my mouth to answer her but Darcy beat me to it.

"Oh, not officially, but her reputation precedes her." He was careful not to show fang as he smiled. He made the last word soft and warm and vaguely obscene. Damn vampire magic. He moved to stand in front of me and pointedly looked anywhere but at him. I noticed he had more than tall, dark, and scary with him. He had a whole group of vampires with him.

"Tequila Sunrise!" Sally was calling from the other side of the bar. Sammy walked off to handle her, leaving me alone with Darcy.

"What can I get for you?" I kept my voice neutral and my eyes down.

"We just came out on the town for a little _fun,_ sweet assassin." I did look up then. He was grinning like a cat who had caught a mouse. I think I figured out who Russell was working for. "We will take ten A negatives."

"We are fresh out." I said it with a lot more heat than I had intended. I wondered then if he had used my blood type on purpose. I looked back down as he turned.

"O negative then." His voice was so damn soft. I wanted to look up into his face. Every vampire I had ever met and hadn't killed had been intrigued by my partial immunity to vampire powers. I could feel him poking at my mind like a kid with a stick poking at a fish out of water. I looked at his chest and wondered if his shirt was as soft as it looked. Probably not.

He walked off with most of his hoard leaving two behind to carry the drinks to the two tables they now occupied. I had tried to play tough, but it was hard to play tough while staring at someone's chest. You really needed eye contact for that but that was a no no when playing with vampires.

Darcy laughed and even over the music, I felt it. It rubbed over my skin like rolling around on a fur carpet. Sammy grabbed my arm and I saw some of the of the other customers look around.

"This ain't going to end good, is it?"Sammy's southern accent got stronger when she was stressed but I knew what she meant. We never had this big of a group of vampires come in at once. Never someone as old and powerful as Darcy.

I glanced at the vampires, I don't know why. Darcy sat there watching me. He raised a pale hand to his lips and blew me a kiss from across the room. The nights fun had just begun.


	4. Chapter 4

The room was full of laughter, liquor, and beer. Some Chainsmokers song was blasting over the DJs speakers. A few of the vampire regulars and Darcy 's group wandered around the tables; mingling. There was an undercurrent of fear but it was the excited kind. A lot of our human customers came in for the chance to be near a real vampire.

One of Darcy 's group moved to the dance floor. Like fish swimming away from a pebble tossed in the water, everyone moved. A white t-shirt hugged him. He wasn't a body builder, big but more like a swimmer. Not too much of a good thing. A black leather jacket, tight jeans, and boots completed his look. He could have been a regular guy walking on the street; only at night. His thick brown hair swept his shoulders as he looked back at Darcy. Darcy nodded.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, started playing across the speakers and the man started to sway. His hips rotated ever so slightly. He began to slip out of the black jacket. He let it fall to the floor. He looked around at everyone watching him.

I swallowed hard. I didn't know what was about to happen but I had a feeling that I was not going to like it.

He grabbed the t-shirt with strong hands and pulled. It ripped away from his chest. Well, I can be wrong every once in a while; maybe I would like this. I'm only human after all. He smiled and it was dazzling. Melt-In-Your-Mouth sexy. I needed to stop this. Why wasn't I stopping this?

I looked over at Sammy. She wouldn't be any help to me. She was leaning forward over the bar, mouth slightly open. I looked around the club and saw similar expressions on the faces of all the humans. This was a mass hypnosis. Not personal, not dangerous, and not permanent.

Suddenly the vampire was in front of Sammy. I hadn't seen him move. The vampire had just appeared. Fear drove all the air from my body in an icy rush. I hadn't felt the mind trick, but it had happened.

I looked over at Darcy. He raised his hand in a salute to me. The basted had been in my head and I hadn't known it.

The vampire in front of Sammy cut his eyes over at me. I shook my head. He wouldn't hurt her, that wasn't the game. Then he grabbed at me. Snake bite fast. No time to think. The vodka bottle on the bar crashed to the floor. I was just out of reach. His finger tips could have brushed my nose if he had really wanted to.

This was exactly was Russell did, only better. This was definitely who he was working for.

A buzz ran through the club patrons as they tried to figure out what had happened. They were coming out of the mass hypnosis. The vampire was still reaching out to me, like I would lean my face against his hand.

Darcy was there standing beside me. I hadn't seen him that time either. Damn it. "Are you all right?"

His voice held things that words didn't even hint at. Promises whispered in the dark, under cool sheets. He sucked me under with his mind tricks. My mind went fuzzy like a wino after the first bottle and it felt good.

A buzzing started at my hip. I focused on it and it helped drive the vampire out. Thank goodness I had put it on vibrate because I never would have heard it over the music. I blinked and leaned against the bar. He reached out a hand to help me. "Don't touch me," I said.

He smiled like I was the funniest thing he had seen all day. I looked at him pissed. How dare he come into my work and play with me. That's when I noticed everything had gone back to normal. The patrons had gone back to talking amongst each other and the vampire wanna be stripper was gone.

"I almost had you my little assassin." He smiled and gave a little chuckle. Could vampires do that and make it sound so...hot?

I glanced at his face then quickly down. "Close doesn't count you blood sucking bastard. You know what they say, close only counts in horseshoes and grenades. Now, get your ass out from behind my bar." He didn't move. I glanced up to find him studying the sexy grim reaper on my right shoulder.

"So little assassin, how may kills to your credit?"

I didn't like where this conversation was going. It wasn't going to end up anywhere I wanted to be. I knew he would know if I lied. I couldn't understand his mood but I wasn't about to lie to him.

"Human or vampire?" Did it make a difference? To me, it never did, but I think he only cared about one truly.

"Both." He didn't sound like he cared.

"Together eighteen. Four human, fourteen vampire."

"And people call us murderers."

I just stared at his chest, not sure where he really wanted me to take this conversation. "I kill what I am paid to kill. Money is money."

"They call you the Sandman. Did you know that?" I could feel his eyes burrowing into the side of my head.

"Yes." He had done nothing to threaten me but something was screaming at me to get away. That's when I noticed that Sammy wasn't behind the bar. "Sammy?" Her name only came out in a whisper as I scanned the crowd. I looked for her short blond curls but didn't see them. Mr. Strip-tease was gone too. I spared a glance at Darcy before pushing past him to check the bathrooms.

I pushed open the door to the ladies room and nothing. I turned to the men's and nothing but a drunk trying to hit the urinal. He wouldn't take her to the ally. The street life was too lively on weekends. The only other place I could think he would take her was Chandler's office. Chandler rarely came in on weekends. Either one of the other girls or I would open and close. His office was down the hall from the bathrooms behind a pretty solid oak door. I think he meant for it to block out some of the music.

I threw open the door and there they were. The vampire stared at me from behind Sammy. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Damn it. It was staged so I would find them. This couldn't be happening.

"Call her." His voice was ordinary but it was still a command.

I opened my eyes and looked at Sammy's face and knew what would happen. There was an excitement feel radiating off of him. Like any ignorant person, I tried. "Sammy? Can you hear me?"

She never moved. She was alive, but for how long? The vampire had gotten to her. I couldn't see if he had bitten her, but he had gotten her deep into a trance. He was in her mind like a stain that would keep coming back, anytime he wanted to.

The vampire touched her shoulder. She blinked and stared around, surprised and scared. She looked at me, the whites of her eyes showing. "What happened?"

"You are now under my power, my lovely one." He swept her blond curls back and kissed her neck. She jerked away from him. I grabbed her hand and pushed her behind me and out of the room. He giggled. "No need to be jealous. There is enough of me for you to. I'm Jeramiah. What's your name?"

His mind beat against mine. It was like a weight on my skin, trying to force its way into my body.

"Loxley"

"Loxley. How lovely and different." He wasn't as smooth with his voice as Darcy was. Unlike his body, there was no sex to it. It was the mind that had me worried though. It was old. So terribly ancient it made my bones hurt. "Come."

I shook my head. Over and over it was all I could do. I had no words. I knew that if I let him touch me, he would have me. Just like Sammy. I could feel sweat running down my back and beading on my forehead.

"Come to me now!" "

I had moved a step and I didn't remember doing it. Shit. "No!" I bit down on the fat of my thumb. I tore the skin and welcomed the pain. It helped clear my mind. I looked hard at the carpet. Funny this would be the time to notice a stain. Jeramiah stood in the middle of the room perfectly still. I could still feel him tickling the outside of my mind; tasting.

"Come to me Loxley." He threw his mind at me so hard I fell to my knees. I was drowning in my own pulse.

"No." My voice sounded raw. I looked up at him and all those centuries pushing down on me. Whatever it was that made me partially immune to them was there now. I stood and looked him in the eye.

He smiled then, a slow creeping smile. "Then I guess I will have to come to you."

I couldn't move. His mind held me in place. He stopped with our bodies almost touching. He stopped with our bodies almost touching.

"You smell like fear." His cold hand traced my cheek. I slowly moved my hand around to my back hoping he wouldn't notice. He pulled gently at my ponytail but hard enough to pull my head back to expose my neck. He breathed along my face down to my neck. I felt him shudder with need...with hunger. He was going to do it. He was going to bite me.

Terror swept through me in a sickening rush of adrenaline. I pushed away from him with one hand and fell to the floor while pulling my gun in the same move. I aimed but was too slow to pull the trigger. My first shot only grazed his side. He grabbed my neck and threw me across the room. I hit the desk hard, knocking everything on it off. I slid off and hit the floor pulling a knife from my boot. I peaked over the desk at Jerimiah. His lips curled back from his fangs. There was nothing human left.

He came for me in a blinding rush of speed and hunger. He landed on top of me pinning my right arm under me. It held the gun. I pressed the silver blade over his heart and let his weight do the rest. A trickle of blood moved slowly down his chest and my blade. He lunged for me and drove the blade into his chest. These blades were meant more for slashing than stabbing. Blood dripped down my arm.

I managed to wiggle my right arm from under me and pressed the gun to his forehead.

Then Darcy was there. "Jerimiah let her go."

"Get him off of me or I will kill him." The vampire slashed him own lips with his fangs.

Darcy started to speak to him in something I didn't understand. Gaelic maybe? His voice was like velvet. Darcy offered his wrist up. Jerimiah growled and bit down on his wrist. Darcy hissed. I still held my gun to his forehead.

Should I kill him? He has tried to kill me, held Sammy under control, I'm sure the list went on to others but those two things were the most important. His face was human again, but once you see the wild in an animal, you don't forget.

"Slowly get off of me." It took a lot to keep my hand with the gun from shaking. It was going numb from holding it up to long.

He smiled. Soft and slow. A human smile. He got off me human slow and moved until him back was against the wall across the room. I still had the gun strained on his head.

"Are you alright, my acushla?"

I stared at the bloody knife in my hand. "The fuck do you think?" For the first time, I looked him in the eye, and felt nothing.

"Please put the gun away, my word you will leave here safely."

I looked at him and lowered it. But if he thought I was going to put it up with Fang Face still in the room he had another thing coming.

Darcy nodded like he knew what I was thinking. He reached out to help me stand and I let him. He kept a tight grip on my left arm, keeping my gun hand free. His shirt brushed my arm. It wasn't soft at all.

"We need to talk Loxley. You're friend Sammy's life depends on your actions from this moment on."

I looked at him long and hard. "I have a tendency to kill things that threaten me."

He smiled showing a lot of fang. "What a coincidence, so do I."


	5. Chapter 5

Darcy moved to sit at Chandler's desk. Jerimiah moved to stand at his back. I kept my eyes on him as he moved around me. There wasn't an ounce of me that trusted him. Darcy looked calm as he sat. As if stuff like this happened everyday. Maybe in his world it did.

"I want Sammy out of this. Anyway I can get her out." Now that my fear was under control, I was angry. Damnit this job was supposed to be my not dangerous one.

Darcy sighed. "The damage can not be undone. The only thing that will break Jerimiah's hold on her is his death."

So he had bitten her. Fuck.

"Jerimiah sneered at the look on my face. "Her great, great, great,great grandchildren will be dust in their graves before I die."

I looked at the blood stain on his chest and side. Though they had already healed you could just see where he had been hurt. I smiled.

"These little wounds were luck and nothing more. Do not become overconfident in you're abilities."

Ha. Overconfident. I managed not to laugh. "I understand the threat here. Either I do what you want or Fang-For-Brains gets to finish what he started with Sammy."

"You have indeed grasped the situation my acushla." Darcy looked at me like a proud parent.

"Stop calling me that. Now what do you want?"

"Russell Collins filled you in before you sent him back a failure."

"You want me to check into who, or what, ever is responsible for the vamp murders." I snorted. "This was hardly nessicary. You could beat me up, threaten me, offered me more money than I could have spent in a year. You could have done a lot of things before this."

Darcy shrugged. "Maybe. But let's be honest with each other. You still would have refused us and this way you have no choice."

I wish I could say he was wrong. That I could still walk away from this and feel no guilt about letting Sammy face whatever was coming to her. But I was wrong. She had done nothing wrong and it was my fault she was even in this situation.

"Now," Darcy looked at me the way a lawyer looks at a convict when he knows he is about to cut a deal, "I can guarantee her safety if you help us."

I did laugh this time. "No offense, but you can't. You don't hold Jerimiah's leash."

Jerimiah growled. "No one holds my leash girl. I am my own master."

I placed my left hand on my hip. "Wrong again. Let's be honest with ourselves. If you were a master vampire and over five hundred, you would have scrubbed the carpet with my face. As it stands,you are not that old and you didn't. You may be old but not that old. Youre no master."

He growled. He hunched in a crouch like he was going to launch himself at me. "How dare you?" He leaned forward and took a step.

Darcy held out his hand. "I think she just guessed right about everything and that we need her. She needs her unhurt Jerimiah."

"Who is 'she'?" I was tired of all this running around.

Right then Charlene walked in? She stopped dead and looked at one face to another.

"Charlene get out of here please." I wanted to push her out the door. She can't be dragged into this too. She had a kid. But then I saw how different she looks. Her roots were no longer showing in her too red hair, her make up done classy and not her usual trashy;no cherry lip gloss. Her outfit and bag were designer and more expensive than anything she had ever owned I'm sure. To top it all off, she was all eyes for Jerimiah.

She had bite marks on her neck.

"They paid you to get me here tonight didn't they? Is your kid even hurt?" This bitch.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "You could have said no."

I really wanted to smash her face in. The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. I smiled at her and it felt good to see the confusion on her face. I walked towards her.

"Loxley, don't harm her. She has our protection." Darcy made sure I knew that like he could read my mind.

I walked up to her until our bodies touched. I whispered to her face, "If anything happens to Sammy, I will see you dead."

She smirked like she had it all figured out. "Jerimiah will bring me back as one of them."

I felt my head shake from side to side. I put on the calm I always felt before a kill and made sure she saw it. Made sure she felt that I would and could do it. "I will cut out your heart," I was still smiling, "Then I will burn it and scatter the ashes. No one will recognize you when I am done with you. Do you understand?"

She swallowed hard enough that I saw her throat working. She nodded at me slowly like I was the boomy man. Close enough I guess. She backed out of the room without taking her eyes off of me once she was out of sight I turned back to the two vampires.

"So the Sandman finally shows herself. They say no one ever sees you coming. That death is a dance that people welcome from you." Darcy looked at me like he was trying to figure me out.

"Death is death. Some people see me but they don't live to tell about it. Rumors Darcy." My adrenalin was gone and I was growing tired and sore from hitting a damn desk. "I've said I will help you, will you leave me alone now to work now?"

"No. Charlene is here to cover you're shift. We need you to come with us. If it's money you're worried about you will be greatly compensated for your time." Jerimiah said it like it was the most obvious thing.

I was actually sitting on a pretty good nest egg from my side work, but no one knew that. No one needed to. It was for if anything ever went wrong and I needed to disappear. Nothing else.

"Shall we go?" Darcy stood and moved out from behind the desk. I sighed and gestured for them to lead the way.


End file.
